At the Hoboken City Council meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 4, the body reorganized its members and saw debate over Zoning Board appointments by the council. In the last two years, some members of the public have complained about a lack of diversity in board appointments in Hoboken, particularly at the Zoning Board, as very few minorities were on the seven-member board, and there were no renters in a city full of thousands of tenants. The Zoning Board hears requests from property owners to deviate from zoning guidelines when building or altering development projects. Click here for more.

Progress in reducing crime in Jersey City has been steady over the last three years, said Mayor Steven Fulop last week, although there are still problem areas to be addressed. Jersey City has seen a spike in some categories such as violent crime, and this year saw an increase in domestic violence incidents. Other categories have remained flat over the past year. Police records show that there were 1,073 incidents of assault in 2016, close to the previous year’s 1,071 incidents. Aggravated assaults dropped from 435 in 2015 to 430 in 2016, with robberies showing a similar decrease from 445 to 440. Robberies involving weapons fell about 5 percent during that same period, from 191 to 181. Click here for more.

At first glance, the room resembles something from a video game tournament. This is the North Bergen Police Department’s Command Call Center. Multiple high-definition screens line the wall, delivering live feeds from a network of about 100 closed-circuit TV cameras that blanket the city. Located behind a door that officers must enter using their fingerprint, the center is a critical crime-fighting tool. In some instances, its cameras go beyond crime. They proved useful during the recent fire at Kennedy Furniture on 13th Street and JFK Boulevard, allowing the police to monitor the ongoing situation. Click here for more.

Hoboken is only one square mile and all those services (political jobs program) Taxpayers need to consolidate services with Bayonne & Jersey City. Nothing wrong with saving a few hundred millions since they are taxing.